Why India’s ‘leaky pipeline’ in research is unlike the rest of the world
Girls and women represent half of the world’s population, but their participation in scientific research is lagging. In many countries, this distinctive contribution starts from school age. For example, in the United States, girls are less likely to take advanced math, physics, calculus, and biology courses at the high school level.
In many other countries, the number of girls choosing to major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) is significantly lower than boys. Women make up only 35% of STEM graduates globally and earn only 40% of STEM doctorates. Additionally, according to data from 146 countries, female scientists make up only 30% of the STEM workforce, including academic jobs and faculty positions. This systematic loss of women at various stages of STEM education and career is often referred to as the ‘leaky pipeline’.
And at first glance, India seems to be an exception.
Where are the ‘leaks’?
At school level, the compulsory subject for almost all students is ‘science’, and (at least anecdotally) girls take part in science exams, olympics, summer schools, hackathons and hands-on tinkering competitions. After class girls, all XII. It constitutes 46% of those who are successful in primary science courses.
In 2025, the Ministry of National Education, for the first time in more than ten years, will organize the XIIth grade in the field of science. He reported that the number of girls who passed the class exam was more than the number of girls in the arts branch. This marked a significant increase in girls’ participation in science education: 7.5 lakh more girls graduated from arts than science, according to 2014 data. As a result, India has the highest percentage of female STEM graduates globally, with 43% female science graduates at the bachelor’s level and nearly 50% at the master’s and doctoral level.
But beyond the encouraging statistics, India there is It’s a leaky pipeline for women in STEM, except it looks different from the rest of the world.
Although women produce the largest number of female STEM graduates only 18% A Ministry of Science and Technology report on the country’s research and development workforce reveals that women make up less than 30% of scientists in India’s national research institutions; the highest representation was in the Indian Council of Medical Research with 29%, and the lowest was in the Defense Research and Development Organization with 14%.
Women also constitute only 8% of faculty at the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore and 11-13% of scientists at IITs. During university settingsWhile both the government and the private sector report higher representation, the figures are still below 30%.
Typical Indian environment
This means that while a large number of women in India participate in STEM education, they are under-represented in scientific research jobs. This ‘leaky pipeline’ persists due to a combination of social, structural and systemic challenges.
In schools, girls in India are often encouraged to pursue science, and those interested in science are considered ‘good’ or ‘smart’ girls and ‘wanting to be scientists’ are viewed positively by teachers, peers and parents.
But as women advance in science education (which may require several years of training and commitment), social expectations hinder their career plans. Completing a doctoral degree often coincides with the search for a research job.Familial directives to ‘settle down’, have children and ‘focus’ on household chores. In India’s typical socio-cultural setting, women often move to where their husbands live, adapt to a new family structure and take on a greater share of childcare and household responsibilities; all of which create significant challenges in seeking lucrative scientific research jobs and positions.
There are strict age limits on scientific recruitment across government research organisations, particularly for entry-level positions, as well as irregular recruitment practices, shortage of positions and special assignments for specific research areas. For women, given geographical constraints and family responsibilities, accessing these long-term jobs means doing so within age eligibility and in a defined location; factors that lead to a limited pool of options. Academic jobs also do not allow for remote work; Although some roles allow for flexible and hybrid working models, they generally do not directly involve research or teaching.
position gap
At the research ecosystem level, some of these social and structural challenges are being addressed through specific recruitment incentives and funding programs for women scientists. Despite these measures, institutions are delayed in ensuring gender equality during recruitment and gender equality initiatives or was limited to these pilot projectsnot appropriately incentivized or associated with minimal responsibility.
As a result, the majority of women with PhDs in STEM in India find themselves unable to access long-term, lucrative and prestigious research jobs. This results in a position gap where female scientists often have to contend with short-term, contractual, precarious and precarious positions, such as those in quasi-academic ventures, organizations funded by grants, scholarships or ‘soft money’, positions without full benefits, promotions or increments, and roles with limited career development.
The major ‘leakage’ in India’s STEM pipeline is a result of social, structural and systemic challenges, as evidenced by the sharp loss of women scientists during the transition from science education to the research workforce, and is reflected in the position gap that prevents the long-term and sustained participation of the majority of trained women scientists in scientific research.
Karishma S Kaushik is a physician-scientist and scientific consultant. She recently published a book for girls and women who want to pursue STEM education and careers.
It was published – 08 March 2026 08:00 IST
